1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related in a general manner to the field of golf and, more particularly, to a golf club head of improved construction and, more particularly, to the head of a putter having an improved construction.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
The head of a putter generally has the shape of an elongated mass that includes a striking face arranged substantially perpendicular to the horizontal or ground, which is used to strike the ball and cause it to roll on the green in an attempt to move it closer to the hole or even better, into the hole.
It is recognized that off-centered strokes tend to cause a rotation of the face with respect to a starting position perpendicular to the intended trajectory. To reduce this twisting effect, an attempt has been made to construct heads by distributing the mass towards the ends of the heel and toe so as to increase the resistance to rotation by an increase of inertia. The constructions known from the prior art, however, are not completely satisfactory. In the case of heads made out of one single amorphous material as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,231, for example, heavy materials, such as brass, copper, or even cupro-beryllium, are generally chosen, and the volume of the toe and heel material is increased with respect to the center face. The sensation upon impact on materials of high density is not very agreeable and it is very difficult to control the intensity and length of the stroke.
More sophisticated constructions call for light metallic or plastic structures extending at the ends by cavities filled with a metal of high density in the form of inserts, of screwed or affixed weights, or even steel balls, agglomerated powder, etc. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,459 and 5,340,107 are some examples among many others of such embodiments. The mass distribution is, however, not optimum for both reducing the tendency for rotation of the head and promoting the top spin to cause the ball to roll and to control the trajectory and length of the ball.